Though several British newspaper editorials have given tacit support to Israel for its bombing of Gaza, it is clear that they do not believe it likely to succeed. It will not stop the rocket fire. It will not only not break Hamas, it will breed renewed sympathy for the organisation among beleaguered Palestinians.

And despite a global PR campaign, it will not secure Israel further friends among the international community because its assault is regarded as disproportionate. In other words, it will be a failure on all fronts. That's the clear message in these extracts from recent leading articles...

The Guardian: "For all the protestations of its spokesmen that its strikes are surgical, that it is targeting Hamas not ordinary Gazans, there must be growing doubts as to whether it can achieve by military means even the modest objective it has set itself: the ending of rocket fire on southern Israel."

Daily Telegraph: "The air attacks and a possible ground offensive will act as a recruiting sergeant for Hamas and widen the rift with Mahmoud Abbas, the democratically elected Fatah leader whose writ no longer runs in Gaza."

A mural decrying the Gaza carnage on West Belfast's Falls Road paraphrases a John Lennon song

The Times: "If Israel persists with an aerial campaign, then the very success of its actions so far will have diminished the number of military targets and increased the risk to civilians. Israel has a right to defend itself but criticism from some European governments that disproportionate force is being used might soon become more persuasive in these circumstances."

The Independent: "The bombardment of Gaza will destroy lives, not Hamas. Israel is mistaken if it believes these attacks will solve its security issues... How and why he [Ehud Olmert] believes a sustained aerial bombardment of Gaza is going to engineer the collapse of Hamas remains unclear."

Financial Times: "Bombing Gaza is not a solution... This level of violence goes beyond the assumed aims of both Hamas and Israel – to try to secure a new truce but from a position of strength – and looks set to create a full-blown crisis."

The Economist: "A war must pass three tests to be justified. A country must first have exhausted all other means of defending itself. The attack should be proportionate to the objective. And it must stand a reasonable chance of achieving its goal. On all three of these tests Israel is on shakier ground than it cares to admit."